It is well known in the relevant arts that gliding cuts down fuel consumption in half. This is especially true in the case for light fixed-wing aircrafts that excel at fuel efficiency. By gliding for the majority of the time, light fixed-wing aircrafts burn only half the fuel traditional helicopters burn per hour. For example, a helicopter that burns 15 gallons per hour would travel no faster or higher than a fixed-wing aircraft that burns only 7 gallons per hour.
However, helicopters present several advantages to modern fixed-wing aircraft. In particular, helicopters do not require long runways to take-off or land. Helicopters can vertically take off and land on a small patch of land. Also, a fixed-wing aircraft needs to ensure a steady flow of air over their wings to generate lift. This means that if the fixed-wing aircraft fails to keep air flowing over their wings, the fixed-wing aircraft will no longer be able to fly. Additionally, if the velocity of the airflow over the wings is too low, the aircraft can stall and crash. By rotating the propellers, helicopters ensure that the air flowing over each individual propeller blade is fast enough to generate the required lift. This means that helicopters can generate lift even when they are stationary in relation to the ambient air. Thus, helicopters possess several desirable advantages over fixed-wing aircraft.
The present invention is a passenger carrying quadcopter with lift-generating fixed-wings that allow the present invention to glide. The objective of the present invention is to provide an aircraft that combines the advantages of the light fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The present invention uses a plurality of lift-generating rotors to generate lift irrespective of the velocity of the air flow in relation to the fuselage of the present invention. The present invention also uses a bi-wing assembly to augment the lift generated by the plurality of lift-generating rotors. Once the present invention starts traveling at a certain velocity, the air flow over the bi-wing assembly generates a significant amount of lift. Thus, the plurality of lift-generating rotors may then operate according to an energy efficient profile which maximizes the range and minimizes fuel consumption.
Another objective of the present invention is to present a novel way of configuring the plurality of lift-generating rotors and the bi-wing assembly. In particular, the bi-wing assembly is positioned to take advantage of the downward airflow provided by the plurality of lift-generating rotors in a manner which increases the magnitude of the lift.